Midnight's Song (54 page)

Seeing the pain in Aurelian’s
expression, I did as he said. Little-by-little, I inched away from
where I was standing over the control of my psyche. At first it
felt like the worst pain anyone could ever imagine – then came
relief. Whatever was in me was swiftly taking its seat back over
the control over my mind, numbing my defenses as it temporarily
sent it into a relieving freefall to the bottom of my subconscious.
After that, I remember very little. It was as if I had fallen into
a deep sleep, and by the time I woke up again Aurelian would be
gone.

Presently, Aurelian held me in
desperation while we both sat on the floor. I was asleep – out of
it, whatever way you might put it – and Aurelian quickly realized
that although I was no longer near death there were still bigger
problems looming. I was presently overwhelmed by magic beyond what
most humans can handle, Aurelian was far from the refuge of another
dimension, and we were both trapped in a castle that had been shut
off from the outside world.

“At least we’re still together,”
Aurelian grimly muttered. Though, that notion would soon find
itself hopeless as well.

In the next breath,
the place where I had been straddled across Aurelian’s arms became
a void. Even though he held onto me tightly just moments before, by
means of what could only be magic – in the next few seconds, the
space was empty as if I had never been there. Just as Aurelian’s
greatest nightmares now always entailed, he had not been able to
hold onto me in one of the most dangerous places. He looked down
and then again to his sides, hopelessly searching for me. But, it
was no use. I had
vanished
.

Enraged and despairing, the heroic
Prince stood up with his sword in tow. It was no longer a question
– his brother had done this. He had done this to torment us
together and break him in whatever way that he could. Where was I
now? Was I safe? Could I be dead? No, he convinced himself at
first. If I had been the bait to lure him here, Faolan couldn’t
want me dead so soon. Though, in reality that was all just
Aurelian’s hope. There was no way to know, but he vowed to find
out.

“Where is she?” Aurelian
shouted toward the ceiling. He knew better than anyone else that
his brother must have been listening. His voice was grim and
intense like nothing else. “Wherever you’re hiding, know that I’m
coming for you. You will regret that you ever did this! I promise
that as long as I’m alive, I will find her!”

When I next opened
my eyes I had no idea where I was. I could hardly see, but I could
feel the constricting sensation of a bone-chilling chain bound
around my neck. I immediately knew that my mind was back in my own
hands, a harsh and splitting pain shooting across my head with it.
As I gained consciousness I could see the darkness from behind my
eyelids fade into the dim light of a new room. It was a room just
as dark and cold as all of the others in the castle, though this
one was oddly different from any of the others. It was
covered
in
mirrors.

For some reason
every wall was blanketed with them, so it wasn’t hard for me to
spot my own reflection. I looked like I was nearly a dead woman.
There was something else that I could see clearly, something
terrifying. I was standing on the edge of a ledge – one much like
the one in the throne room – that towered far above the ground.
Soon I saw Faolan standing behind me with his arms on my neck; his
grasp the bone-chilling chain I had felt tightening around me upon
awakening. The next thing I knew, I heard the sound of an
abrupt
clank!
A
door had opened somewhere, causing Faolan to display a cruel
grin.

“It seems we have a visitor. Well
done,” Faolan whispered in my ear.

The notion caused me to remember what
was going on, and all at once I was horrifically jolted fully
awake. Somehow, my attention was drawn to one of the mirrors on the
ceiling. There, my eye caught sight of the bleakest reflection. I
could see Aurelian entering in through a heavy door to the room, in
the room just enough for me to see the top of his head in the
corner of the mirror. Soon, the reflection moved and came into the
room so that his reflection was soon over nearly every one of the
strange mirrors. I wanted to cry out, but the moment that I tried
to Faolan threw me under his arm and tightened his grip around my
neck.

“Welcome, my brother,” Faolan spoke
loudly from the edge of the ledge as Aurelian entered the room. “It
seems you’ve found what you’ve been looking for.”

Suddenly, Aurelian was in
full view. It was clear that now he was in no humorous approach. He
carried a sword in one hand, and now a shield in the other. For a
few seconds, the prince cautiously eyed me as he contemplated what
to do next. He nearly darted to me, but seeing Faolan’s deathly
grip around me caused him to stop. The prince averted his eyes
toward his brother and glared.

“What have you done to her?” Aurelian
growled, standing his ground.

“I’ve done absolutely nothing to her,”
Faolan spat in return. “In fact, I’ve been more than hospitable.
Haven’t I, Elissa?”

The sick man took his free hand and
tauntingly stroked my cheek. I squirmed and fought him all I could.
Apparently he wanted me to speak up, so for just a moment he
released me.

“You’re a sick man,” I told him in a
raspy voice. After my protesting words, Faolan smirked and
proceeded to take my neck back into his suffocating grasp and
tighten it even more.

“Please – please! Stop!” Aurelian
begged. Although Faolan wasn’t one for bartering, after Aurelian
had made his pleas I felt the constant depletion of the air to my
lungs come to a temporary but abrupt halt. “Why must you do this?
I’m the one that you want. She’s innocent!”

“Innocent?” Faolan scoffed; his grip
on me as unyielding as could be. “I beg to differ! She knows of our
world now, she knows of you. Innocence is only harbored by
ignorance. She can no longer call herself ignorant in this – so why
should I spare her?”

“Faolan, please, I am your brother,”
Aurelian continued pleading. “Cease your riddles! You hold an
innocent woman’s life in your hands now…I beg of you, free her and
end this madness!”

“Madness? You call this madness? No.
Running from this throne is madness,” Faolan barked. “Why would I
free her now? Because of your pleading? Because she’s your love?
None of that is of any matter to me, brother. Not after what you’ve
put me through in this life!”

It seemed that whatever
prayers or pleading that Aurelian had to offer were useless.
Nothing was going to keep Faolan from this; nothing was going to
stop him! Aurelian continued trying to decipher the situation
carefully, desiring that none of his actions might worsen the
situation. If Aurelian threatened to move, Faolan glared at him as
if to promise that he would hasten my death. Though, if he didn’t
move Aurelian was sure that soon I would be dead anyway. There was
no way to win! The prince stood helplessly on the stairs in an
attempt to negotiate.

“I won’t spare her for you,” Faolan
spat again. “You don’t deserve to see her alive. You’re a coward,
Aurelian, a coward! Perhaps I should see to her death…that her
suffering will serve as a punishment for your
cowardice!”

“Don’t you dare harm her!” Aurelian
threatened. “If you don’t free her in this instant, you’ll sorely
regret it!”

“Oh, but you’re mistaken!” Faolan spat
through his teeth, clutching me even tighter. “After today, I’ll
regret nothing!”

“What have I ever
done to you to deserve a punishment such as this?” Aurelian
despaired, witnessing me toil before him. Faolan remained
completely unmoved. “What has
she
done?”

“You know what you’ve done,” Faolan
shouted intensely. “You came first. That is your sin! Although we
shared the same womb, you came first. Because of it, I was the
forgotten one!”

There was a single moment in which
Faolan appeared to suddenly lose interest in the moment. He looked
off to the side, apparently reminiscing bitter memories. The moment
that he looked away, Aurelian took the opportunity and started
rushing up the stairs. It was still just as useless as before. It
seemed that Faolan could never be caught off guard!

Without giving
Aurelian the time to climb one more step, the wretched man reached
out and dangled me over the towering ledge. With each step that
Aurelian took closer he threatened to let go. Then, Faolan began to
do something else. As if I hadn’t been in enough pain already,
Faolan began doing something to me that caused me to feel as if the
life was been physically
drained
from my body and placed into his
hands.

“What are you doing?” Aurelian shook
in the face of this strange, evil power.

“I’m doing what I do best,” Faolan
remarked. “I’m taking the life right from her soul!”

It took the life from me rapidly,
making it appear that I was dying before Aurelian’s eyes. Aurelian
remained frozen where he was, watching in silent horror. He used
more magic to drain the life from me, draining until it was more
than evident that he was stealing my life and turning it into his
own manipulative power. The draining continued until I was paler
than could even be considered pale. My skin was white as death,
turning the color of virgin snow.

“Faolan, stop this!” Aurelian pleaded
as my face turned white. “Whatever magic you’re using – stop it
this instant! Stop it or I’ll kill you!”

“Take one more step, and I’ll take
more of her life.” Faolan threatened in return.

Aurelian continued to eye him, the
anger welling up inside. He saw that I was suffering. If he didn’t
make a move soon I was going to die – it wasn’t even a question
anymore. Perhaps it was risky, but it seemed to be his last chance.
Aurelian took in a deep breath, mustering up his courage. It was
time to be bold.

“What’s the use?” Aurelian challenged,
“If I don’t kill you now, she’ll meet her end at your hand anyway.
If I pierce you, the magic dies with you.”

“Who’s to say she won’t be dead before
your sword reaches me?” Faolan taunted.

The magic continued sucking the life
from me, this time at a more rapid rate than it had before. It was
so painful that I actually lost my mind. Losing the will to live, I
weakly reached out to Aurelian and pleaded for his unobtainable
help. It was something that would haunt him for many years to
come.

“Aurelian,” I called out in a raspy
voice. “Help me!”

I now hung over the ledge, both
trapped and saved by Faolan’s strangling grasp. For a moment my
eyes drifted aside lazily and stopped at one of the eerie mirrors
on the wall. I wasn’t dead, but when I looked at my reflection I
felt so much pain at once that my inability to feel it went
suddenly and completely numb. The oxygen was being cut off from my
brain, causing my body to feel as if it was flying. I watched my
reflection, my peril unfolding as a seemingly eternal picture in
the glass. All the while, Faolan continued gloating.

“Your pleas are useless, brother. Can
you not see that this is how I will win? You’re helpless. You know
that with every step you take forward, I will bring your love
closer to death. Soon, she will be dead – a causality of your
foolishness.”

“Is that what this is about?” Aurelian
pleaded again in tears, reverting back to his stance as a helpless
negotiator for the time being. “That you think I am a fool? Is my
status as the eldest such a sin that you would think to kill the
one I love most? If it is the throne that you want; keep it! I
promise that I’m not here to take it from you. I don’t want
it!”

“That’s just it
brother! It’s not about who you are…it’s about what you’ve taken
from me. All of our lives you were groomed for the throne. Yet, for
some reason you were too tenderhearted to take it yourself. It was
yours, but you never wanted it. Though, I did. It was my deepest
desire, my one love! As long as you were here I could never have
it! It left me hungry, loveless and empty! And now…I’m going to do
the same to you!” The King’s eye’s narrowed. “See? I’m taking the
only thing you have left to live for and I’m destroying it…just
like I destroyed our
father.”

Now the taunting had become too much.
The mention of his father’s death was the last straw. He was filled
with utter ferocity, but still remained motionless. Then, he gazed
up at me. I was just barely hanging onto life as I dangled at the
end of Faolan’s clutches. It was all or nothing now. If he didn’t
move, I’d be dead. One small gasp came from my mouth at that
moment, and Aurelian broke.

“You vile
wolf
!” Aurelian snarled.
If there was ever a chance at saving me, he would have to take it
now. He raised his sword and ran up the stairs at top
speed.

It only lasted a few seconds, but for
me it felt like eons. As Aurelian approached, Faolan made sure to
keep his promise. With every fraction of a step, Faolan
sadistically sucked more and more of the life from my body. Seeing
the life fade away, Aurelian ran up the stairs even faster than
before. Perhaps there was a chance he would make it in time; a
chance that he would reach me before the life was all
gone.